


The snow will make this Christmas right

by Ra_chelB



Category: Queen (Band)
Genre: Children, Christmas, Christmas Eve, Christmas Fluff, F/M, Family, Family Fluff, Fluff, Holidays, Married Couple, Roger Taylor/Dominique Beyrand (mentioned), Snow, blackout - Freeform, stuck at home
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2019-12-23
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:55:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21919453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ra_chelB/pseuds/Ra_chelB
Summary: 1978, John Deacon is spending a quiet Christmas Eve at home with his small but growing family, thinking back at past Christmases and how he used to feel about holidays. Then, a small accident happens, but it reveals to be a perfect occasion to make Christmas even more magical.
Relationships: John Deacon/Veronica Tetzlaff
Comments: 8
Kudos: 23





	The snow will make this Christmas right

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a small attempt at writing something Christmas-themed, nothing too pretentious. I really hope you like it anyway and let me know what you think!   
> Also English is not my 1st language and I'm still learning how to properly write, so please tell me if you find grammar mistakes, I'll fix them!

John has never been enthusiastic about Christmas, it was always one of the toughest periods of the year for him since when he lost his dad at the age of eleven. Every Christmas his mom was busy working and his sister and him had to spend the holidays with their grandparents. Everything remarking the absence of his dad, that empty spot in his family and in his life, a huge hole in his heart. His mind erased all the memories of previous, happier Christmases in a weak attempt at protecting itself, but it wasn't enough. 

When he moved to college he hoped to feel better, but he was still a shy lad struggling to make friends and not keen to crowded parties. Apparently, he'd never have the occasion to enjoy Christmas. 

This was his thought until he met them. Until he met her.

1971 seemed to turn on the lights in his life and on that Christmas a sense of hope finally raised in his heart. He just joined a band formed by other three guys, as misfits and "weird" as him, and even if he wasn't sure on how long it would've lasted, they were so friendly and supportive that he felt like he found true friends in them. Not lucky enough, in the same year he fell head over heels for a girl and she was feeling the same for him. Probably if there was a God above, John had been blessed by that supreme entity with Veronica's love. They were two faces of the same medal, both shy and reserved, he was into maths and electronics while she loved art and literature. And she was also beautiful and lovely, much more than he could ever imagine.

His bandmates cheered up his mood like no one before, but it was the light in her eyes that lit up his heart. Ronnie came from a Catholic family and she was absolutely thrilled by Christmas, her excitement about holidays always managed to raise the brightest smiles on his face. She was  _ glowing _ and he was completely invested by her light. 

Since 1971, Christmas became John's favourite holiday and he began to wait patiently for that period of the year, ready to spend some time partying with his friends in ugly sweaters, exchanging presents and kissing Ronnie under the mistletoe they always carefully placed everywhere.

Every year the "Queen family" grew bigger and bigger, with new friends, roadies and partners also for the other guys.

During the Christmas Eve in 1974 John asked Ronnie's hand under the small tree they've decorated in his little apartment. She just discovered to be expecting their first child and asking her to marry him was his Christmas gift for her, like that baby was hers to him. It was a turning point of their lives, a bit frantic Christmas due to those important events and after the holidays they had to quickly organise the wedding and look up for a new house where to live together.

If Ronnie's usual glow up wasn't enough, having a toddler at home during the holidays cheered up John even more. His bandmates immediately fell in love with Robert and for two years they spent the Christmas days partying all together, once in England and once in America.

In 1977 it was a bit more difficult to set all the lights and decorations around the house: Veronica was almost eight months pregnant with their second child and her huge belly made her movements slow and clumsy, while Robert couldn't stay still for a moment, running around the house and having tantrums because he already wanted to open up the presents. But it was indeed a wonderful Christmas, with the most special gift about to arrive… Michael was just a couple of months later than the New Year.

John smiled, thinking back at the previous Christmases while sipping his hot tea on the sofa. It was 1978 now and Robert was next to him, watching Disney's  _ Fantasia _ on the tv (the VHS has been one of his last birthday's presents), fascinated by the leaves and mushrooms dancing in tune with Tchaikovsky's  _ Nutcracker _ , while Michael was sleeping upstairs in his cradle. 

From behind John, Ronnie sighed heavily. He turned his head to see her standing in front of the window, looking outside. She was wearing a long, cozy dress, her shoulders wrapped in a shawl, looking as pretty as always and in tune with the winter atmosphere, but her unusual melancholic gaze worried John.

He raised from the sofa and wrapped his arms around her from behind, placing a hand on her growing belly. Around four months, hopefully a girl this time.

"What's up, V?"

She sighed again.

"Ronnie? You're usually so happy at Christmas time…" he tried to soothe her, gently rocking her in his embrace.

"Nothing… it's just…" she shook her head. "It's snowing so much…" 

John looked out of the window. It was almost eight in the evening, the sky was already very dark and the streetlights delineated the soft and thick blanket of snow that was covering their backyard and the streets. Further Christmas lights were trembling from the other houses, almost muffled by the snow falling from the sky. 

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" John pointed out.

"It is indeed."

“...But?” he knew there was more. 

“But what?”

John kissed her head. “You're not happy, there is a  _ but _ .”

She paused, trying to find the right words.

“You’ll think it’s stupid, sorry.” she shook her head again.

John shifted aside to face her, never leaving his arms from her shoulders.   
“You know I won’t… Please tell me what’s the matter..” he begged.

Veronica kept staring outside.

“I'm afraid we won't make to the church tomorrow… the roads are closed and the snow doesn't seem to stop…”    
Her explanation was mostly a murmur, but John heard it clearly. He knew it was important for her to attend the Christmas mass, every year they used to go on Christmas morning after opening the presents. Before Robert they even went at the Eve's midnight mass once. Of course it was the most important holiday for Ronnie and even if John wasn’t really a religious person, he cherished going to church with his family and wishing good holidays to the neighbourhood, meeting Veronica’s friends and Robert’s playmates. 

“It’s not stupid, Ronnie. I’m sorry you feel sad… but it’s not your fault, we can’t go outside with this weather. Probably there won't even be much people at the mass tomorrow morning, we could try to go at the evening's mass...” He tried to comfort her, cupping her cheek with a hand. She leaned in his touch and closed her eyes. 

“Yeah, maybe you’re right…” 

“We’ll see if the streets will be clean tomorrow morning, ok? We’re in London, they can’t leave the streets covered in snow forever, you know?” His radiant smile reassured her to the core. 

“Thank you, John.” 

He kissed her softly, letting a smile rise on her lips. 

"Daddy…" Robert's voice brought them back to reality. They both joined the kid on the sofa, noticing  _ The Sorcerer's Apprentice _ was about to begin. 

"The Wizard is scary…" Robert cuddled between his parents and John held his hand.

"You know he's not evil, right?"

"Mmh, but I don't want to watch it alone." He pouted, making his parents giggle.

"We're here, Robbie, don't worry." Veronica reassured him and they enjoyed the movie all together. 

About twenty minutes later the phone rang and John went to answer.

"Hello?"

"Deaks!"

"Rog! How you doin'?" 

"It's great, man! The snow is beautiful here on the Alps, Dom and I have never skied like this, it's wonderful. How's life in London?" Roger's voice chimed from the other side of the phone.

"It's snowing a lot here as well. Actually, the roads are closed since this afternoon… We've spent the day at home, doing snowmen in the garden and the usual stuff, you know, watching movies, snowball fights…" John trailed off. He enjoyed spending his time with family, even though maybe Rog found it more boring than skiing.

"Aww, you're always so soft, Deaks. And Ronnie?"

"She's fine, I'm doing my best to help her with Mike, while Rob is behaving very well. She's a bit concerned about the heavy snow, but she's safe and warm here at home…" John glanced at the sofa and tried to impress the sight of his pregnant wife and their eldest son cuddled together next to the Christmas tree, watching a Disney movie, clearly into his eyelids. Only Mike was missing, but he knew the toddler was sleeping peacefully upstairs. 

"Deaky, you still there?" Roger's voice awakened him.

"Uh- yes, sorry, I was thinking."

"Who knows what's running in that mind of yours…" Roger chuckled. "Next Christmas we want you here on the mountains, with your whole army of kids, right? They must learn how to ski!"

"That sounds like a plan, I'm in!" John smiled, knowing how much Robert loved snow and probably his siblings will do the same. 

"Dom is calling me, I must go now. Thanks for the chat, mate!"

"Thanks for calling! Merry Christmas, Rog!"

"Merry Christmas, John!" 

Rog hung the phone and, with a smile, John went back on the sofa.

Just for a moment.

He was relaxing again with his family, when everything went dark with a loud pop, followed by absolute silence broken only by the fireplace's crackles.

Robert let out a loud, sudden cry.

"MOMMYYY!!!" He began wailing in panic and Veronica hurried to hug him, trying to calm him down.

"Shh… the lights went out, but we're at home, don't worry… it's ok…" 

John looked out the window. It seemed like the whole Putney, maybe the whole London, was without electricity. 

"It's the snow for sure." 

Robert was still scared of darkness, but while Veronica managed to stop his sighs, she heard Mike crying from his room.

"I'll go get him, you two stay here. The least thing I want is you to get hurt by tripping or bumping on something." John's tone was firm, yet worried. His mind was running on full protective-dad mode right now, he had to figure out how to keep his family safe and find out a solution to get the light back, at least at their place. 

He grabbed a flashlight from a drawer and went upstairs.

Michael was crying loudly, awakened by his brother's scream and now scared of the dark, when his dad got in the room and picked him up to calm him. John began humming a lullaby, while Mike clung tightly to his warm sweater and slowly his desperate cry faded away. Still rocking the toddler in his arms, the bassist went back to the living room, where he found his wife lighting up some candles, keeping Rob's curiosity at a safe distance.

"How many did you find?" John asked about the candles.

"There are five big ones and around a dozen of tealights, probably there are more in the house, but I think these are enough. I shall thank mrs. Galloway, she always gifts me tealights for my birthday…" She added, getting closer to peck a kiss on Michael's head. 

"Everything ok?" John could feel the worry in her voice, the pregnancy hormones making her more anxious than she'd normally be.

"Yeah, Rob's cry woke him up, but he's fine…" John noticed his son was already falling back asleep on his shoulder and gave his wife a reassuring smile. 

He placed the baby to sleep on the sofa wrapped in a nest of soft covers, and asked Robert to keep an eye on him. The kid obeyed, sitting quietly next to the little brother.

John put a couple of logs in the fireplace and picked up the flashlight once again.

"I'm going downstairs." 

Veronica nodded at him while placing the candles all around the living room, their scent filling the air. 

He came back from the basement with a long cable, creating many questions in his son's head. Ronnie, instead, already knew what he was about to do and couldn't wait to see him at work. 

"What's that, dad?" Robert asked.

"We have a small backup generator downstairs, but it’s a bit noisy so I'll keep it there. The cable takes the electricity from the generator and brings it up here." The kid nodded along his dad's explanation. "It's not enough to light up the whole house, but we can light up this." 

The bassist connected the extension cord with the Christmas tree, that suddenly lit up filling the room with a warm and colorful light.

Robert gasped in awe, widening his eyes.

Veronica swooned at the wonderful atmosphere that rose in their living room: the snow dancing outside their window, the crackling fireplace and the softly scented candles all around the house, and the glowing Christmas tree with his lights reflecting through the decorations… she didn't feel worried or gloomy anymore, but happy and surrounded by magic.

As John stood on his feet, she wrapped his arms around him, her round belly protected between their bodies. 

"Thank you John, this is wonderful…" she whispered and pecked a kiss on his lips that made him smile widely. 

"I was sure you'd have loved it!" He replied, his eyes crinkling in happiness.

"Hey, me too!" Robert squealed and jumped off the sofa, hugging his parents' legs.

As they parted the hug, Ronnie went to check little Mike who was waking up and already cooing, asking for an evening snack. John warmed up some milk for him and some chamomile for the other three of them. 

It was about sleeping time also for Robert and they had to prepare to go to bed, even with the lights out.

"Dad, where are the cookies for Santa?" The kid asked.

_ Damn, he almost forgot. _

With the help of the flashlight, they found the cookies and prepared a nice plate with them and a mug full of milk. 

"Do you think Santa will find our house even if there's no light?" Rob asked again while cuddling again next to his mom, holding his cup of chamomile. 

"Sure, he always knows where everyone lives, he uses magic! But… have you been a good kid this year?" John playfully poked his nose.

"He's been the best brother ever, right?" Ronnie ruffled his hair, making him giggle. 

"Yes! And I always help mom when you're not home!" He inflated proudly his chest, getting a pat on the head from his dad. 

"Then you'll get many nice gifts from Santa!" 

While Ronnie was feeding Michael, Robert glanced at her and frowned. 

"What's up, Robbie?" John asked.

"I… I like being a big brother." The kid placed a tiny hand on his mom's belly. "A sis can be the best gift."

"And what if it's another brother?" His mom replied quietly.

Robert made a small pause, thinking.

"I'll love him anyway." He smiled and his words softened his parents' hearts.

"But I'd like a sister this time… so I'll have one brother and one sister." He explained.

"Well, it's fair." John nodded along with his wife. 

Meanwhile, Mike had finished his milk and fell fast asleep once again in his mother's arms. 

The Deacons sat quietly on the sofa, sipping their tea all cuddled one on each other, listening to the lazy crackling fireplace and the silent snow outside while their Christmas tree and the trembling candles were the only lights in their whole world.

After tucking their kids to bed, John and Veronica did Santa's job and placed silently the gifts under the tree, trying to not wake up the children with the flashlights. Ronnie blew off all the candles, leaving the fireplace and the tree as the only light sources.

She was about to turn off the tree as well before going to sleep, kneeling on the floor to unplug the cable, when John stopped her.

"V, wait." He kneeled next to her, and lowered to kiss her round belly.

Then he raised his head and kissed her softly.

They stayed silently like that, both invested by the tree's glowing colors, lingering on each other's presence. 

"Merry Christmas, Deaky."

"Merry Christmas, Ronnie."

  
  



End file.
